HELLLLLP!!! files appear and disappear on hd!

Hi, long story short...
My wireless on my laptop broke, could not connect to net, called HP, they said my drives uninstalled, we couldn't install new ones...they said restore

I backed up to an external hd and restored and still didnt work but I didnt put my files back on my laptop.

Took my laptop to geek sqaud they said wireless card, wanted to charge me 400 i declined and got a wireless usb, i got home intalled wireless usb and somehow my wireless got fixed, i had a blue light after i unlpugged wireless usb and restarted..anywhoo...new prblem arrived..

I figured everything was ok, i triple checked that everything was 100% backed up on my hd and it was sooo.. I connect the external hd to the wall outlet, and USB into my laptop and then my files started disappearing half way. Every time I unlug and plug in the usb into my laptop al my files are there and couple of minutes later appear and disappear again!!!!!

So i tried it on my desktop it did the same except not as often...I need help..I dont know what is the problem. I got to transfer the photos one by 1 via hd into desktop and then into a flash drive and then flash drive into my laptop ( only way I knew how)...except the music files just cant seem to get transfered because half way there they start disappearing...maybe i have to do 1 by 1 but i have 900!

Not to mention I do not know how the hell im supposed to transfer my Adpbe PSD and Illustrator files back into my laptop from the hd..

 

:wave Welcome to Major Geeks! :major

I sounds to me like your external hard drive is failing. If it's a 'pre-built' external drive like one of the Western Digital or LaCie or Segate units, and if it's under warranty, and you opt to replace it, you will lose everything on it, so that is not recommended. What I suggest will void the warranty. These pre-built external drives commonly fail; it is not the drive itself (usually), it is usually the circuit board/interface between the drive in the enclosure and the cable that runs from the enclosure to your PC. So- unplug all the cables from the external drive (power, data, all cables) and open the enclosure. It may require more-or-less destroying the external housing and therefore destroying any warranty. BE CAREFUL!!! Do not drop it, or jab it real hard with a screwdriver, or whatever.... Once it's out of the enclosure, you can either connect it to a desktop PC using the motherboard and power supply connections, or purchase another enclosure for the drive. Chances are, it's a SATA drive, and a new SATA enclosure shouldn't be more than $20-$30US at your local PC shop. Here's some examples at Newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...4&cm_re=sata_enclosure-_-17-145-074-_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...7&cm_re=sata_enclosure-_-17-388-027-_-Product
These are for 3.5" drives, and since you said your external drive plugs in to the wall, I'm assuming it's a 3.5" drive (the smaller 2.5" drives don't plug in to the wall for power). Once this is done, you should be able to access your data . . . no guarantees though... if the drive itself is failing, then it's a whole different scenario...

GOOD LUCK!!! Let us know what happens!

(BTW- if you're not comfortable with this, simply take your external drive to your local independent PC shop, explain your situation, and they will offer options and advice)